Do online casinos track your IP address? (And why)

  (photo credit: INGIMAGE)
(photo credit: INGIMAGE)

If you're anything like the old me, you probably don't care which websites track your IP address and which don't. I mean, for many years, I never really bothered about such information, too. I just surfed the internet the way I liked, visited every website I wanted and did everything I desired.

Fast-forward a few years, my perspective on IP address tracking changed significantly. Somehow, I was exposed to a site that tracked, stored, and leaked my IP address. I noticed this malicious activity when I tried logging in to my favorite online gaming site, and I realized I couldn't sign in. Turns out the hacker had used my IP address to access the site without my knowledge. My friends told me he was posting stuff and sending DMs to people requesting money.

Can you imagine that? That day marked the last time I surfed the internet without giving attention to protecting my IP address.

Do online casinos track your IP address? (And why)

Now to the question of the day, 'do online casinos track your IP address?' 

The short answer is, Yes, they do. Most local-based casino websites are mandated by the law of the country they're operating to track and store players' IP addresses for audit purposes. This is particularly true of casino platforms in the UK, US, and some parts of Europe. As a casino operator in these countries, you're required by regulators to track players' IP addresses. This is to ensure you're strictly servicing players located within allowable jurisdiction.

For example, as a casino house operating in the UK, regulators want to ensure that your services don't go beyond the walls of the UK. To enforce that, they require you to provide the details of the IP addresses of players. That way, they can be certain that all your site visitors are strictly from the UK.

This reason alone is why many casino players choose international gambling agents like judi slot oneida casino. Since any country's local law doesn't bind these operators, they have no reason to track or store players' IP addresses. 

What are some other reasons online casinos track players' IP addresses?

Besides the regulatory demand for IP addresses, some casinos also track players IP addresses in order to send targeted ads to them. Sadly, this habit isn't limited to local-based casinos only. Even the so-called international casinos track players' IPs for the purpose of ad targeting.

So, even though we mentioned that international casinos aren't mandated by law to track players' IP, some still do. And sadly, it's for their own gain. One of the international casinos we've tested and found not to indulge in this habit is the Judi slot Oneida casino we referenced earlier. You should go there to play all your casino games without fear of your IP address being tracked or stored.

How to protect your IP address from being tracked by any online casino

Get a premium VPN

The best way to make sure no website or third-party platform has access to your real IP address is to surf the internet on a VPN service. Known as a Virtual Private Network, VPNs allow you to do everything you want on the internet without needing to disclose your real internet identity. With a VPN service, your real IP address and location will be hidden from anyone who cares to track it. Instead, such a person will be shown fake data.

As you can imagine, VPNs are quite popular amongst internet users generally. According to Security Org, almost 30 percent of internet users use VPNs for personal reasons like IP masking and location. So, if you're joining the train, you aren't alone.

Please note that you need to be careful with free VPNs. We suggested a premium VPN subscription in this post because we believe they're reliable and trustworthy. Surfing your favorite casino site on a free VPN may be riskier than surfing without a VPN at all. Most free VPN services aren't as privacy-conscious as you'd like. Also, browsing the internet with a free VPN may put your device at the risk of being hijacked by cybercriminals.

So, if you must use VPN, please make sure it's a premium one.

This article was written in cooperation with Oneidabingoandcasino